The Malak and the Tangled Destiny
by Piano Black Ink
Summary: A small but spry malak ventures to find the answers she yearns for, but meets an unexpected companion along the way. (Collab between Amnesiac and Alternative Berseria the X: Dragon of the Hylands by Kaiser Dracon)
1. Chapter 1

Ocean, the most gorgeous place, the splendor of the world. An enormous amount of crystalline water moved ahead of me and stretched towards the impossible lines in the horizon where waves collide and conspire. The boat proudly moved forward, the white large sails catching the sea breeze. I closed the book and walked closer to the bow of the ship. The breeze caressed my skin. I could hear the chirping and wailing of the nearby seagulls, flying a V formation above. The wind brought me the distant caws of other seagulls, flying in to join their kind.

Since the day I came to be, the wind was my first language, it governed my senses. I could see, I could hear, and I could feel anything that it touched. I lowered my head and looked at the book's cover, then I giggled out of nowhere. I remembered two days ago, the gathering of the Normins in Yseult. The beachfront town in Southgand was the location for one of the classes of a renowned Malak named Grimoirh.

The class was held at an abandoned Palapa, away from the town itself. As I approached the location, I saw the little earth spirits hanging around the area, laughing and following the one I wanted to see. I held my book closely to my chest and walked in the direction of the entrance. Suddenly, I felt a flying normin coming straight to me from my right side. I Indolently turned to him and watched as a purple normin with red wings, wearing a large purple hat, and carrying a large number of books flew on a crash course towards me.

"BIEEEEN! HELP!" he yelled as he lost his control and dropped all of the books he was carrying. At that moment, I managed to grab him by the wing before his face could meet the sand on the beach. As he dangled miserably above the ground, panting in surprise, he looked up and strangely his eyes became widened and shakey, as if he had found his long, lost love.

"…Th-thank you so much! You're very kind madam!"

I immediately dropped him. That gratefulness along with that attitude felt kind of weird.

"Think nothing of it," I responded and crouched to help him recover his books. There were a lot of books, especially for a normin. My eyes fixated on one of the book's titles:

"How to Talk a Human Female into Becoming Your Vessel."

My eyes narrowed in apprehension and were promptly turned to him, he was biting his lips and his eyes were enlarged in fear and concern. He quickly swiped up the book that caught my attention, collecting books at lightning speed, flying left and right fast enough to almost appear like he was using some kind of teleporting arte. The Malak attempted to flee with the obscene amount of weight in his little arms, screaming,

"Thank you again, m-madam!" as he said that, he saw the look in my eyes once more and hastily jumped away in an instant. I shook my head and continued my way towards the hut. The lady Normin noticed my approach right away. It was nothing strange as I was the only Malak stood out between all the little normins that were roaming around.

The lady normin called Grimoirh laid back under a nearby palm tree and on a trunk, her large hat shielding her eyes from the sun.

"So, you finally came." She calmly said and looked at the large book in my arms. I slowly nodded and sat beside her, opening the book on the empty space between us. She looked at the symbols and smirked. "Miss Aria."

"Ready for docking!"

I heard one of the sailors shouting. I woke up from my daydreaming and stood up.

"The sail was easy; wind strength was good. Today the goddess of the seas looked upon us." One of the crew members told his friend. I smiled at the hearing the name "goddess of the seas". The ship docked at the port, the seagulls are all but gone and their cowls were barely just a whisper in the wind. I took a good last look at the ocean and left the ship.

The small town felt empty and miserable. This port was once a remote outpost for the imperial navy, but they abandoned it due to the daemon threats increasing day by day. I could sense the loneliness, the gloomy ambiance that engulfed the area. I quickly strode to the gates. A pair of guards were stood there, talking in a low volume. Concerns and uncertainty were all apparent in their mood, words, and their eyes.

"The last patrol reported that there are some daemons wandering around the road to the mountain. That odd looking guy that went for the temple is probably dead by now. Should we send a party to recover the body?" Said one of the guards.

"Nah, let the daemons have their share. They would bother us less if their stomachs are full."

For three whole years, now, humans could see daemons. Humans could now truly feel the danger and rage that emanated from them. They caused heartbreak, terror, despair. Daemons are why humans and malakhim rely on each other so much more than they used to. These guards know this, yet they decide to leave this unknown man for dead.

How despicable.

I sighed and continued my way out of the town's gate. The serenity and beauty of the ocean are now substituted with the drowning sense of danger and dread. Handling some daemons wouldn't be a problem for me and I came prepared, at least mentally. I passed some deserted guard posts along the way, there were no signs of daemon presence, just some turned over carriages and crates. I paused.

There were a series of black goo splashed around the field. Traces of burns and grazes were etched on the ground and on the base of the guard tower. Those were definitely signs of battle. I felt traces of mana and tempted elements in the area. Someone used magic artes against a group of attacking daemons and none of them survived. I had this question in my head: another Malak perhaps? Or was it that stranger that city guards were talking about?

It was good news for me as there were fewer daemons to worry about and someone capable was now on the scene. I continued my small trip to the mountain temple. As I climbed the foothills, the wind was picking up strength and blew harder. But the wind was no bother to me, the merciless flow circled my body and ignored it completely. My short trip was without an incident up to that point.

In an instant, my senses began to pick up on something: daemons. I looked to my right and saw a large rock formation. I ran and hid behind them in order to assess their numbers and their power in case of confrontation. The sounds of growls began to get closer, I focused on the wind, reading it. There were two bloodwolves walking down the path, sniffing for prey. I manipulated the wind, distracting them was easy and it would spare me the unnecessary fight. Then I felt it.

An aberration in the wind, as someone was twisting it. The wind flowed back towards it as it was obeying a new master. I felt a power surge in the area. Another Malak? No, he was different, and he was alone. The daemons alerted to his presence, howled, splitting my ears.

"Wind Cutter!"

I heard it clearly, the voice echoed through the mountain. It didn't feel loud but it was powerful. It was an arte, one I didn't know about. I felt silly as I knew every other acknowledged wind artes. I sensed that the force was traveling towards the daemons with great speed. The howl turned to shriek, the sound of blood splattering, and the remnant of the arte sliced and crushed the close by rocks.

Then the second daemon pounced, probably at the attacker. I began to slowly move to the side of the rock to get a clearer picture as the wind was already distorted by the arte. All I saw was a hooded figure quickly dashing towards the bloodwolf. He jumped and sliced the daemon in mid-air. The angry bark turned to naught as it's lifeless body came crashing down on the ground, sliding and leaving traces of dust and blood until it came to a halt.

I turned my head away from the scene, hiding again for the stranger to go away.

"It is safe now, you can come out."

He called out to me. I froze in my place and I stopped breathing. He knew I was there, but he waited, patiently. I didn't think nor I wanted to know his intentions. My goal was clear; getting to the temple with minimal outside contact. I locked my attention at the temple above and charge my wind boost, releasing it and sprinting to the top. I ran with the flow, my body was weightless and the wind was at my command. After I stopped, the stamina escaped me, I looked back and saw that I climbed all the way from the foothill.

I waited a minute to collect myself, turning my attention at the temple which at that time, was right in front of me. Slowly walking towards the door, I opened the book and checked the symbols; they matched perfectly. I slide my hand into my satchel and pulled out the "key" for the door. The supposed key was around, pearl looking sphere, shining and smooth. I put it in the middle hole, nothing happened. I tried to nudge the door but it stood firm. I opened the book once more, desperately looking for a missed clue.

I heard the sounds of coming creatures. The deformity in the air flow alarmed me that those were coming from the air. I quickly turned back, two harpies were closing in and began to circle around me.

"Wind Lance," I whispered. The air and mana pressurized into the forms of six small spears, rotating clockwise in a circular fashion around me. I eye-balled the first daemon and released the first three set, the daemon tried to climb. The lances gained speed and darted towards the monster, as each of them found the corrupted flesh, the daemon's strength was also drained. They drilled into its body and soon it fell with a thump.

The second harpy dived right into my face. I instantly crouched and saw little bits of my hair flutter down in front of me as its talons grazed my head. I concentrated on the daemon as it was flying back for another attack. I waited a little more as it descended for the kill once more. Locked in its killing move, I launched the last set at it. It didn't take long for my arte to reach it. They pierced the chest and cut the monster in half. The body parts disappeared in black smokes before reaching the ground.

"Not today," I whispered to myself.

I turned to the door, I felt something was close. I looked up and saw another daemon skimming the temple wall towards me. I quickly put the last remaining mana I had into my arte,

"Air Thrust!"

Blades of wind shot out of my arms at the daemon. The blades sliced one of its wings but it continued the attack as black blood was spewing from its severed limb. I hastily began to charge another shot. I stopped however when I sensed something coming at us, or more precisely, going to hit somewhere between. From the corner of my eyes, I noticed the burning light, a blazing arte formed by fire was closing in fast. Its target wasn't me. The flaming long spear homed on the daemon, it punctured the body and carried it away, nailing the harpy to the temple wall. The disgusting smell that followed didn't aid my confusion.

I could see and feel the heat of the elemental spear-looking arte. It melted the stone blocks and dissolved the monster's body into ash. I gradually began to move as I hear footsteps behind me. It was the same man from before. His right arm radiates red with intense heat. He moved closer to me slowly, putting away his hood.

I bit my tongue as I almost wanted to shout at him to leave me be, but decided against it considering the power he displayed. Glancing at his face, I kept my face neutral while I scanned his features. He was a young man, his face had a rather calm and collected air about it. The composed look that was settled on his face contrasted his bright green eyes, that held a fiery determination in their hues. On top of that, he was much taller than me. Overall, dangerous. Not to mention…

...He's able to see me. That isn't good.

As much as I hated to admit it, I felt intimidated.


	2. Chapter 2

He casually walked towards the temple door,

"Here, let me try."

His serene and sociable expression left me ill at ease. It looked like it was a normal day for him, strolling through a friendly neighborhood, fixing the public's problems.

I stood there as he passed by me. I didn't try to stop him because I needed help and he seemed to be confident enough. He crouched and touched the symbols around the keyhole. I slowly moved behind him, peaking over his shoulders. He was doing something with the pearl key. I couldn't get a good look at that time but after a moment the pearl glowed and the whole carving on the door lit up.

"So, this was one of the hidden sanctuaries of Hyonoa."

I couldn't understand whether he was talking to himself or he was talking to me.

Hyonoa, the Empyrean of Wind. How did this guy know about Empyreans? All these so-called exorcists that I saw or encountered weren't aware of something that ancient. I quickly scanned his clothes to find a sliver of an answer to who he was or where he was from at least. Everything about him was screaming; A foreigner.

The door hardly managed to move. The amount of friction the door had with the ground displayed that this thing hadn't been opened for centuries. He then entered the temple.

What if he had the same goal as me? What am I going to do if he becomes a threat?

The thoughts nearly overwhelmed me. I didn't expect to encounter someone like him even though I thought I was prepared for anything.

I looked at the staircase inside; It was pitch black. The stranger pulled something from under his cloak. With a tad bit of shaking it changed shaped. It turned out to be a staff of some sort. He slammed the end of it on the ground and mumbled something,

"Illumination."

The top of the staff shined bright. Very bright that I had to look away from it as soon as it lit. He waited, slightly turned his head towards the side as he was waiting for me to join him. I didn't know what to do, he was definitely not an enemy and he was powerful enough that it was obvious he didn't need my help.

So, I joined him. His arte already covered a large radius around us. We went down the stairs, it felt kind of awkward; we didn't trade any words. I tried to listen to the winds as they entered the sanctuary and traveled into the dark corridors and rooms.

"Stay close to me." He said.

"I'm aware of my surroundings…"

"Oh, yes. You're a wind Malak. You can sense everything through the flows."

I felt a chill in my body. Sensing everything by tapping into the wind flows wasn't known to humans, let alone that guy of all people. I was more concerned than before. But he could have a Malak or a Normin with him although, he/she was probably merged with him.

I kept praying that our goal wasn't turning out to be the same.

From the looks of it, the temple hadn't seen any visitors for hundreds or maybe, thousands of years. Except for a few bugs nesting in the corners, I couldn't feel a single live soul.

We reached a fork in the corridor and he suddenly stopped.

"Are we clear to move?"

His attempt to cooperative was commendable but his friendly gesture was not. I closed my eyes and waited for the wind flows to traverse the areas around us.

"I think we're clear."

The stranger nodded and we resumed our walk. He chose the middle corridor although I didn't know if his goal was the same, he was my only help.

We passed through several statues with symbols that were unknown to me. I wanted to stay and check them to make notes and sketches, but that wasn't the time to do it. I glanced at the end of the hallway and saw a light fading in and out.

That was the inner chamber. He was definitely looking for the key too. My heart began to beat harder, I didn't come all this way just to fail my quest.

We finally reached the source; a floating pyramid-looking object.

That was the key I was looking for. And it seemed that was his destination too.

He slowly reached to object and gently placed his hand under it. The stranger turned to me, looking pleased as he was staring at the pyramid artifact which levitated above his hand. Each side was engraved with for symbols of each Empyrean.

I needed that.

I looked up and saw a huge crack in the ceiling. That was my way to escape this temple.

Strong winds started to blow. He raised his head and began to check around the room. I waited and redirected more streams into the room. My hair began to float. He quickly glanced at me but it was already too late for him.

I quickly grabbed the artifact and flew upward along the wind. Turning back, I saw his face. He wasn't mad but he was looking annoyed.

"…I'm Sorry."

I whispered to myself. The guilt nearly overwhelmed me. Stranger or not, he decided to help and all I did was stealing the artifact. I wasn't a thief and I wasn't a traitor either, But I remembered my quest and hoped that he'd forgive me.

I passed through the crack and landed on the top of the temple; I was at the peak of the mountain. I went to the edge of the roof and checked the altitude. I wished I could warp but at that distance and the windy weather, it was near impossible to calculate an exit door near the surface.

ZAP!

I heard a sound behind me. I immediately turned and saw the stranger appearing out of thin air. I could see his face more clearly; he was definitely annoyed.

"… The artifact." Demanded the stranger

He extended his arm, waiting tolerantly.

But I couldn't give it up.

"That's not possible."

I hastily began to increase the speed of winds around him. It was easy to nudge a little more and push him off the roof, but I was no killer and I wasn't going to betray his help.

I just needed to throw him off the balance to buy myself enough time to find a place down there to land.

He closed his eye, pressing his lips he let out a silent sigh. He closed his hand and shook his head, No more Mr. Nice guy.

"Very well.

I already saw his artes and I knew the danger he would pose in a fight.

"Cyclone Bind!"

The flow of wind began to circle around him. He covered his face as the winds began to pull him up from the ground. I thought that he would flow for a few minutes until I could disappear before he knew what was going on. I scanned the plains on the other side of the mountain, those were my safest place to land. Before I could muster enough energy to jump,

A sudden feeling of intense heat engulfed me.

BAM!

The cyclone prison was vaporized. Fire, the nemesis to my essence. I turned back. His arte had warmed the topside air. I couldn't feel no more wind flows. In a sense, he burned them all.

"Hesitation only hastens the grave."

There was no time to think; I quickly jumped from the rooftop, caught the wind current and began to glide all the way towards the terrain in front of me. My heart was piercing my chest. I probably made someone angry that I shouldn't have but, the horizon was beautiful. The sky started to get clearer.

I passed a flock of birds. I envied the birds or a moment; they weren't forced to witness the ugliness that was destroying the ground below them. That sensation soon ended as I reach the ground. I breathed a sigh of relief. I tried to overcome any thoughts that I had about my encounter, encouraging myself to go forward and forget about it.

ZAP!

ZAP!

ZAP!

I heard the vague and obscure sounds coming from above. I turned and saw something coming down in a zigzag pattern. Appearing left and right.

I jumped back and it crashed right into the ground. The cloud of dust settled after a few seconds.

I could see the silhouette of a man slowly stand up.

"I was never good at landing…"

"You!" I instinctively shouted.

"I can't let you get away." He said.

I could see his torn clothes on his left arm and leg. Blood began to drip from his wounds. I glanced at his face; he was gritting his teeth and kept blinking his eyes, it seemed that he was in great pain. I could hear his heavy but controlled breathing. That was one stubborn human.

"And I don't intend to give it to you either. Leave me in peace!"

"Listen to me, I could've lent my help if I wasn't in a hurry. But this is a grave matter. I promise; I will return it to you after I've found what I'm looking for."

"No, I just can't. I have a serious mission too and I wouldn't waste my efforts just to throw it away. I can't trust you,"

He exhaled heavily, I could feel his irritated face. At that time, he tried to control himself. I can't afford to care about his problems right now. I won't forfeit my prize, after all I've been through.

"… then I have to take it by force little one."

My face wrinkled at his insult,

"Little one? I'll show you who to call little, young one," I immediately went for my belt to get my weapon. I didn't want to use it but that was the last straw. This little one is going to cause that big mouth teenager some big trouble.

I pulled my boomerang and shook it. It transformed from a small compact card to a full-fledged wide boomerang with tiny fiery substances shining through the itched cuts. I had it made specifically to my needs. He smirked, something flashed in his hand and his staff turned to a scepter; a long and heavy looking one. The gleam from the sigil on top nearly distracted me. He was planning to take me down with more than just a shove. He was going to use an element. Assuming the worst case scenario, that element will be fire, the opposing element to my wind. What boggled me was his stance; he was using a staff but his posture was like someone with a spear or even a longsword with his left hand being free. I was waiting for him to caste his arte but,

All of a sudden he rushed at me. In a flash, I saw him getting closer. He did a horizontal slash with his staff. I leaped above his head and saw him missed his attack. Contrary to my expectation, he wanted to overwhelm me with physical moves.

I landed a few meters away and decided to resume my casting but he was charging me all over again, forcing me to evade to the other side. Our gazes met as he passed me. I had the advantage of speed but not for long because I understood that he was going to drain my stamina by forcing me to evade constantly, a pacifist way to naturalize this little Malak… But I was going to give in that easily.

"Crescent Raid!" I threw my boomerang immediately towards his back.

Cling!

He parried it instantly with his staff. But he was in for a surprise, I commanded it with my wind waves. It came back instantly and it trapped him into a loop of constant dodging and parrying the fast travelling boomerang as it came back and forth.

This gave me enough time to focus my mystic arte.

"Under the watchful eye of the crescent moon, my weapon shall follow its example…" A knowing smile ghosted my lips as leaped upward, holding my boomerang to catch the light. You're going down, human.

"Millennium Gale!" I flicked my boomerang forward like a fan. The calmness of the forest was interrupted as the wind concentrated on my opponent, streaks of green light mixing with white as he was hurled upward, much to his surprise.

A shout was heard as the art slashed at his skin, tossing him back and forth before ultimately throwing him to the ground. The thunderous roar passed over me. I couldn't see clearly; my senses were still recovering from the release of energy. The boomerang came back to me and I calmly grabbed it. Staring at the dust for any sign of that boy.

Nothing but a cape, floating to the ground. I laughed a little. That punishment was probably enough to put him in the place for a day.

Then I heard someone chuckling. I didn't turn but I instantly sidestepped to my right,

Bam!

I sensed the impact and small shattered stones throwing out of impact area behind me. I quickly turned and saw him standing up from his slam punch and having some kind of fiery fist.

"That was an impressive move little Malak!"

I didn't waste time responding to him and throw my boomerang right at his face.

The area around heated up and I lost control of the Boomerang. He grabbed it with ease. My weapon glowed in his hand and in a matter of seconds he threw it at me. Using my own weapon against me? I shunned the attack and dodged it but I noticed a ring of fire forming under my feet. The ground below exploded into small blazing columns. I jumped and leaped after one another until I ran out of stamina and got caught in the explosion. Hurling around, the world circled around my head. I tried to control my decent but out of nowhere, my boomerang came around and flew towards me.

I couldn't feel it, the intense heat prevented me to change the direction of its flight path. It came towards my belly and to my surprise; cut my satchels bind instead. My bag fell to the ground and with a great force, I hit the ground a few meters far from it.

He slowly walked towards my satchel and picked it up.

I wanted to yell at him but I felt a huge pain in my back. The old book dropped from the half-opened bag as he searched for the relic. He hesitated. He crouched and picked it up. Staring at it, his facial expression changed drastically like as he was shocked to see something impossible.

"Is it yours?" He asked.

"None of your… Business... Give it back!"

He lowered his head thinking.

I was mustering my power to get up but suddenly,

ROAR!

Both of us looked at the direction the sound came from. The land kept shaking as the source was getting closer and closer. The stranger quickly threw my bag at me,

"Catch! We'll talk about it later!"

I grabbed my satchel and checked the contents; he didn't take the relic. I raised my head and saw a large werewolf daemon, striding towards us. He stopped and tried to get something out its mane. I recalled my boomerang and we both readied ourselves for confrontation.

The monster shrieked and someone jumped from its back.

The guy landed in front of us.

It was a young man, with a similar athletic build as the teen whom I fought beside. Messy black hair pinned back in a ponytail, "Hey, do you guys mind some company?"


End file.
